2013 Assessment of the Alaska Plaice Stock in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

April 15, 2013

Alaska plaice are assessed on an annual basis in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands region to coincide with the annual Bering Sea multispecies groundfish trawl survey conducted each summer. Due to a temporary lapse in appropriations, the Department of Commerce implemented a U.S. government shutdown from October 1 – October 16 2013. Although the trawl survey was completed again in 2013, the shutdown did not allow time to produce a full stock assessment for Alaska plaice and many other species. Therefore an executive summary is presented to provide management recommendations for the 2014 fishing season.